All the Russian openings: For Begginers

Oddbjoern

Nice post again! I like your ideas and I think you analyze the situation correctly what to do and why.

The main pressure point in KJF imo is to free the indiastack as soon as possible to move east to help Russia before it collapses, which it will quite fast since Germany can throw everything east. So this means that USA needs Borneo asap (each turn shaved is huge). And imo this can only be done if the british attacks and have insane luck against Japan round1 in sz37. I completly agree that its a bad play but so is KJF to be fair and you need a great deal of luck.
What I mean is there isent a way to do KJF with odds on your side (at least against someone decent).

Black_Elk

I tend to agree. I came at this game out of Revised and AA50 especially, and argued forever on the Larry Boards that India should have a starting factory if a new board came out. Part of the argument though was always to raise the total income of UK in order to make the India factory sustainable. That never happened. In 1942.2 we were given the starting factory, but British income is basically the same, and all the other conditions have changed in a way that doesn’t really favor Allies. This makes the India factory more of an Achilles heel than a boon for the British.

Thoughts on India

This board practically has the Japanese Operation “U GO” built in. Meaning that as Allies, if you don’t send literally “everything” to secure India as quickly as possible, then Japan will take the territory! They will sail against it from sz 61 or from sz 63 “Burma Push”, with just way more aircraft and bombardments than you can deal with as UK alone. I mean, from the very first round, the Japanese are hoping to crush Burma and foment revolution in India, to seize your starting factory and then use it against you! Their whole game is to sweat the UK player in south Asia, and make them guess at whether or not they really have enough force to hold onto this factory. They use India like a vacuum sucking up British IPCs that might otherwise be spent in Europe.

This is another reason why the quick KGF “Kill Germany First” plan doesn’t work very well in 1942.2. The fact that UK has to spend a minimum of 9 ipcs in India first round (ideally more) means that it’s just a lot harder to get the early line on Europe with Atlantic carrier buys. This ipc drain, combined with a weak UK Atlantic starting fleet, combined with no good Atlantic shuck transport moves for USA, presents a situation that is much different from the older KGF strategies. Those all involved “ignoring the Pacific” and trading India, in order to race across the Atlantic (especially Africa and the North.) In this respect India used to be seen as a mere speed bump, a territory that you could trade with light forces, and withdraw from, in order to set up a stronger position on Europe. Not so much in 1942 second Edition. That India withdrawal plan just doesn’t work anymore, because now UK is anchored in India with a factory. You have to purchase and max-place to ensure that it has enough hitpoints to hold for at least a couple rounds. The reality is that you need to “race” or “fly” in many more hitpoints to pull off this India defense…

In older world theater boards like Classic, Revised or AA50, a KJF often involved a factory purchase in India by UK. In Classic and Revised there was an option to be much more forward with the Russians, and then build factories with UK (and frequently USA as well) to split Japan. In 1942.2 this doesn’t work, because Russia is in a weaker starting position and the China redesign means the USA is several rounds out from being able to purchase a Pacific factory. China starting factory buy is out, and the Alaska factory doesn’t really work that well for the cost, so that just leaves the Rich Islands as possible factory locations. Those are much harder to get to right away with USA.

The key production difference between 1942.2 and older boards, is that now India is just as important to KGF as KJF. No matter what your overall battle plan, India has to hold for at least a couple rounds.

The way I approach India in my mind, is to say that every unit you successfully place in this territory is like a gift. I try to pretend that I’m back in Classic or Revised or AA50, where there was no factory and you had to build one. Back then, if you managed to get a half dozen units out of an India factory, then that was usually deemed “a successful” India factory purchase. You used it well for the money. For example, in Revised, if you could get 6 tanks out of an India factory, then you played your factory opening correctly and patted yourself on the back! Here in 1942.2 the factory can be seen in a similar way. If you can get half a dozen or more units out of it, then you’ve played your opening hand fairly well. Now given that India is just as critical to a late game Europe focus as a Pacific focus, how do you keep it going? There are 3 ways to hold India for 3 or more rounds, and you need to do all three really, if you hope to get any mileage out of India…

1. Max UK hitpoints and defense points on India:
This means purchasing 3 units in India minimum during the first round, flying in all available aircraft, or transporting in all available ground units to hold the territory against Japan during the second and third round.

2. USA direct aid for the defense of India during the second and third rounds, in the form of fighters or bombers. As well as indirect aid in the form of Pacific pressure against Japan.

3. Russian Tank coverage out of Caucasus.

I think if you don’t keep all 3 in mind, India collapse is inevitable, and likely to happen much sooner than you’d like as Allies. So this is my approach, and it’s basically the same whether I’m planning a KJF or KGF focus…

UK purchases 3 ground in India round one:
A popular buy is 2 artillery and 1 infantry in India + 2 fighters out of UK, or else 3 tanks in India + 1 fighter out of UK. The fighters from UK will transit either to W. Russia or Archangel. Archangel is more likely if UK wants to hit the Germans in sz 7 along the way. This means that you will have 4 starting fighters in range of India for defense during the critical third round + whatever you bought out of UK in the first round.

Round 1 India defense:
UK has 5 starting ground in the region and the AA gun for your starting stack in India. If you are willing to sacrifice a transport and early Egypt positioning, you can have 7 ground in India, plus whatever you bought there.

So at the end of UKs first turn, after placement that’s either 8 ground hitpoints plus 1 for the AA gun, or 10 ground hitpoints plus 1 AA gun, if you are willing to let your transport/Egypt die. But the problem is that Japan has enough units and aircraft in the region to match this, so you need even more hitpoints than this to provide a real deterrent.

Round 2 India defense:
There is a US fighter in Szech that can fly to India for round 2 defense, (if you cover Szech with Russian infantry from Kazakh and ensure that it is not destroyed.)

There are 4 UK starting fighters and a bomber, plus the Egypt tank that can reach India for round 2 defense.

Round 3 India defense:
There is a US fighter in sz53 that can be in India at the close of the second round (via W. Australia) for round 3 defense, and also a bomber in E. US that can be in India at this time as well (via a first round move to Archangel.)

Any fighters you bought and placed in UK initially, can reach India for this round 3 defense, provided they are able to land in Archangel or W. Russia at the end of the second round.

So that’s the situation for basic India defense, but here’s the thing, if at any point, Japan looks they are gearing up to airblitz India (e.g. attack India with everything and plan to take casualties on their fighters in order to ensure the territory is taken) then you want to be able to rush in a couple Russian tanks to back down the attack. That’s the advantage of having Russian tanks at the ready in Caucasus!

Even a single Russian tank, positioned on India, can be enough to make the Japanese think twice, if the battle is narrow.

To answer the question posed earlier about the best buy for Russia under KJF, I would say a Tank buy is optimal for that reason. Unless you plan to strafe Ukraine and return starting tanks to Caucasus after a round of combat. Absent a strong Ukraine strafe, Russia won’t have any tanks in Caucasus at the end of the first round, unless you buy them. And a strafe is never a sure thing, which is why I think its a good plan to buy at least 1 tank and place it in Caucasus if you plan to have a Pacific focused game. You might have to sacrifice a little bit of power projection against G by putting the tank in Caucasus rather than Moscow for example, but I think its worth it. The reason you want to have a Tank in Caucasus at the end of the first round, is so it can race down to India in the second round if needed. The same situation thereafter, though ideally you’d like to 2 tanks in Caucasus at the end of the third round, or 3 at the end of the third etc, just to make sure that India is covered by these extra potential hitpoints. After round 3 the Western Fighters should be able to secure India by themselves, and then its just a matter of how many fighters you really need in the area at any particular time, or whether to bounce them back out to cover other territories in Russia itself.

The goal is to keep Japan pushing through Szech rather than Burma, and to prevent a Burma stack, which allows Axis a multi-round set up to take India. If you see Japan drop a major force in Yunnan, then consider keeping all your Western Fighters fighters in range of India, so you can fighter stack in the event that Japan does the Burma push. Otherwise you will need the fighters in W. Russia or Caucasus or even Moscow to defend against G. But the idea is to have as much airpower as possible within on move of India, and as much air power as possible covering the surrounding sea zones. Whether you buy Tanks, or Infantry, or artillery, or some combination out of India with UK, the idea is to stack 3 ground per round, and then fly over fighter support. You should be doing this for the first three rounds regardless of whether you plan to KGF or KJF. USA purchasing and placement will determine which theater gets the real focus, but as long as UK keeps India active, it is possible for Allies to prevail. To ensure that UK really can hold India up to and beyond round 3, Russian tanks are very helpful. India holds the Russian south during the endgame, and is the most direct route for UK support to Moscow on this board.

I really like tanks in India, if you are going for a KGF, and even in KJF if you are trying to hold the center while USA gets into position. It costs 18 ipcs to place 3 tanks in India, which can be in Moscow in two moves. Whereas it costs, way more than 18 ipcs to sail 3 tanks into Russia via the home island UK. This isn’t Classic or Revised, where you can transport into Karelia or Archangel right away. Here you have to buy transports and carriers and destroyers, and clear the German subs, and do all the rest, before you can even set up that kind of logistics train. 3 tanks to Russia is way more costly to set up via the UK route, and way longer than two moves. So that is the way I think about it. How quickly can I get that Armor into effective range of Eurasia? The fastest route is out of India, and if you start doing it from round 1, it is possible to get at least 6 tanks in Russia before India is toast. Perhaps many more, if you manage to hold India for longer than round 3. If you haven’t tried it before, I’d say its worth a shot. The downside to Indian tanks is that you will have 1 less fighter a round coming out of UK. This can be problematic for coverage of sz 34. I like to try and make up the difference with USA bombers if I’m going with a tank plan. Piggy backing USA fighters off UK carriers takes a round longer than a bomber buy, and requires UK to make a large Atlantic investment, but the Bombers can race into range pretty quickly, especially if you can hold Archangel as the Russians.

Much as I like Tanks though, I think if you’re really trying to pull off a Pacific game, 2 UK fighters per round, plus Indian artillery/inf is a bit more flexible. The defensive value of 3 infantry + 2 fighters is better than the defensive value of 3 tanks and 1 fighter per round.

Max Fighter Build: 2 art, 1 inf + 2 fighters UK = 5 hitpoints and 14 total defense per round.

Max Tank Build: 3 tanks + 1 fighter UK = 4 hitpoints and 13 total defense per round.

The first build is better from a purely defensive standpoint, the tanks can be better from a late game attack and movement standpoint. That’s the trade off you’re looking at if you decide to go max tanks per round instead of max fighters for India.

–--------

One last thought, if you fail to destroy the second Japanese transport in sz 61, it is nearly impossible to prevent Japan from pushing Burma, and taking India early. Given the importance of India, I think it becomes very hard to justify a hit on sz 37. The sz 37 hit without a UK bid, means not attacking sz 61. And for me that’s just way too dangerous to contemplate against a seasoned Japanese opponent. If you do decide to take a gamble and hit sz 37 with UK, I think it makes a lot of sense to go North with USA in the first round to split Japan, and make them pay in the North if they move south to push Burma. In that situation plan for the India pocket to collapse fairly quickly. Position UK and Russia to liberate and make sure to hold the Suez canal from transjordan! Even without a second carrier to contend with it takes USA longer to move out against Japan along the southern route in 1942.2. East Indies is a round farther away, and is also problematic for other reasons. If you try to take it with UK, like to prevent a Japanese factory buy, it requires pulling units off India and you need sz37 to work, then you’re basically just praying for 4 infantry to kill 2 Japanese defenders. Its kind of a stretch. Or if you think about trying a Revised style KJF opener with UK taking Borneo, that’s an even bigger gamble. If you take Borneo with 2 inf vs 1, clear sz 61 (with the cruiser surviving!), and then use your carrier to block at Philippines, it’s very likely that Japan will screw you in one of those battles with their defensive rolls. But even if you did pull it off, taking Borneo with UK can still come back to haunt you. Japan can usually manage the loss of 4 ipcs, and while UK benefits on income, they lose out in the long run due to weaker India hitpoints, and the fact that USA really needs Borneo more than UK for production. The Buryatia stack component of that opener is also different here than in Revised. Russia has one less infantry to stack Bury, and while both Soviet fighters and the UK fighter can reach, this put them all terribly out of position. This doesn’t leave a whole lot of KJF set up options for Allies, beyond just stacking India as deep as you can, and throwing everything the USA has into the Pacific, hoping for a break somewhere along the way to knock down Japan.

KJF on this board is a challenge. I think you have to really reflect on the Russian opening rolls before you even consider it. A good Ukraine strafe, and a sweep of W. Russia allows for some KJF style action. But take too many hits in either battle and a Japan strategy falls apart before it ever gets started!
:-D

Here is a save showing one possible scenario for a round 3 India defense, using the artillery and double fighter fighter combo with UK…

Fairly standard Axis gameplay, perhaps not the most deadly Axis openings, but still shows how Japan can stack up vs India, even when you’re sending pretty much everything towards its defense, and even if you’re building steady Pacific Naval with USA. If you take a glance at India under the conditions of this game, you’ll see that squeezing the right build out of the India factory in the first two rounds is really critical. Here UK was able to build for a third round. At this point they might have considered switching to max tanks, allowing a quick evacuation the following round. Or they might just continue with the artillery/inf combo in the hopes you prompt Japan to push Szech, overtake them in total hitpoints against Burma and then stack India deeper into the endgame. Or maybe even 2 fighters at India to secure the solid defense, and later help clear sea lanes for USA or shoot up to protect the Russians. But can they hold India if they do this? Its like a total tight rope walk for the whole early game, and helpful to see how quickly Japan can go south if India is not well covered, or if the Allies have no response set up beforehand. You can see how in this particular game, the British were backed out of India by round 4, on account of Germany pushing south into Ukraine. You can also see how quickly Germany can sweep Africa, if they’re allowed to take Egypt, especially when USA doesn’t spend any money in the Atlantic to secure it. Again not necessarily the best openings, but shows how delicate the India balance is with Japan, even under a KJF focus when USA is spending heavily in the Pacific to distract them.

India defense round 3.tsvg
India abandon round 4.tsvg

Young Grasshopper

I nominated the first post of this thread for article status on the home page… Great job Black Elk.

Young Grasshopper

I asked IL to sticky this thread… Thanks Imperious Leader, and Thanks Black Elk for all these great posts.

Black_Elk

Wow cool, good looking out guys!

Hopefully it will be helpful for people just coming to the 1942.2 game. I remember when I first started with A&A, getting a feel for the Soviets was one of the more challenging things to wrap my head around, so I thought it might he fun to revisit the subject and see if others might benefit from these ideas.

Thanks again to everyone who maintains this site and participates in the community. And thanks to all the many friends who’ve helped me to improve my strategies and my understanding of A&A over the years. Most of the material in this thread is just a rehashing of ideas I learned from other people, and of course, from getting worked in game by players with more experience and strategic vision than myself haha. Nods all around to the gang!

Best gaming, and catch you guys next round!
Elk

Ps. Oh yeah and one more thought on the Russians in Axis and Allies, remember to never give up! Even if you’re facing down the largest invasion in human history, and even if the Western Allies seem like they’re taking forever to open that “second front” there’s always a chance at recovery in the Great Patriotic War!

Next time we can discuss some additional rules options. Like how having sz 16 open or closed can tweak the opening, or how having the Intercept/Escort rules in play for Bombing can alter the Soviet situation. Maybe some other optional house rules too, like the Soviet Japanese Non Aggression Pact (NAP). See you then!

barney

Black Elk you are an A&A Savant!

Well maybe not quite :) but its a lot of fun to read your stuff. Good work!

baron Münchhausen

You should introduce a special course on sleight-of-hands to roll “1” most of the time. :wink:

Even in desperate situations, I often found that some Russian attack with Infantry only can do miracles.

Black_Elk

Haha thanks guys! I swear everytime I reread these posts, I notice a million spelling and grammar errors. I’ve slowly been trying to clean it up a bit to enhance the readability, so I’ll keep coming back to see if I can improve things. Oh Baron, that’s actually a good idea and brings up something that should definitely be highlighted in the Russia thread!
It also ties back to where I started rather nicely…

Infantry: Total Power!

Here’s an interesting fact that might not be immediately apparent to new players…

2 attacking infantry vs 1 defending infantry: is better than 66.6% odds (more than a two thirds chance) to the attacker.
1 attacking tank vs 1 defending infantry: is just a little over 50% odds (half and half chance) to the attacker.

At first glance this probably seems crazy! ‘How could a pair of units that only hits at a 1, be better than a unit that hits at a 3?’ :evil:

This battle demonstrates the value of hitpoints and fodder on attack, when compared to just the attack value alone. Even though the tank has a stronger attack value, it can only take a single hit before the battle is over! 2 infantry have a weaker attack value, but they have the chance to prolong the battle, and absorb a hit before they go down, with more chances to roll that lucky 1.

If you are willing to send 2 infantry vs 1 infantry, there is a strong chance you will prevail, and in total unit value this is the same cost as sending a single tank. What does this mean for the Russians? Well for starters, it serves as a counterpoint to my first posts in this thread, where I was arguing for greater attack/movement in the first round purchase, over hitpoints and defense. This simple example of 2 infantry vs 1 infantry, really highlights the power of infantry overall. “Naked” infantry, infantry alone, without a heavy hitting attacker or defender to back them up, are still fairly strong, and infantry is cheap at 3 ipcs - the cheapest unit in the roster! Absent the movement advantage, 2 infantry is basically always better for the money than a single Tank, at least when you are just considering small battles like the one under consideration above.

In previous posts I have discussed these kinds of effects as “magnified” or I’d say a phrase like “the magnified build” of such and such unit. What I mean by that is the way a unit of a given type gains certain combat advantages when it is grouped together with other units of that same type (and especially if you continue to “magnify” for several rounds, by purchasing the same type of unit over and over.)

We should just get it out there right now, the most powerful “magnified” build of all, is the magnified Infantry build!

There is a purchasing phenomenon known as the infantry focus, or Infantry spam, or the overall infantry advantage. The sort of “heavy infantry” building strategy that facilitates a move known as the infantry push, or stack push, or the “infantry push mechanic” in Classic, a type of gameplay described in other articles which you can read on this site. http://www.axisandallies.org/p/infantry_push_mechanic_alive_and_well_or_dead_and_buried/

I guess if we need to update the thinking, what we have now is more like an Infantry+Artillery push dynamic. Where you’re still buying predominantly infantry, but now adding artillery into the mix (optimally at 1:1 or at least 2:1 inf per artillery piece.) But the main buy is still infantry here.

Just like Odysseus at Troy, we take our best machinations and mechanics in A&A, and try to put them to use during the War of plastic army men, for total cardboard world domination! The inf push is basically still around, even if altered somewhat by artillery, and the infantry push is acknowledged to be a potent general building strategy. The advantage of infantry, not just on defense, but in hitpoints specifically is huge for Russia. One could say that the whole Russian playstyle or design is geared to highlight this potency of the infantry unit. Russia doesn’t have a lot of money, so by default they are forced to discover the power of infantry. Or at least, that’s one way you can look at it. Trying to put a positive spin on Russia’s lack of cash.
:-D

If you are able to out-stack your opponent, and especially if you can stack a huge wall of Russian infantry at Moscow, that is basically optimal purchasing and positioning for the Soviets. The higher you stack the more potent you will be on defense, but there are also some cases where you will need to attack, to maintain at least some kind of income parity, or take a key territory in order to block German or Japanese tanks from blitzing you! Sometimes you have a fighter or two to spare. Sometimes not! If you take my recommendation and add a Russian bomber to the set up, you will at least be able to run 3 battles per round with air support if you want. But frequently there is not enough aircraft available, and in situations like that, always keep this simple rule in mind… Infantry are still ok on attack. And artillery for just a slight bit more invested makes these infantry even better. But infantry alone can get the job done, if you need them too in a pinch.

2 infantry units has a stronger cumulative attack value than a single tank in small engagements. If you double the numbers the effect becomes even more potent, so 4 infantry is much stronger than 2 tanks, in small engagements. The real advantage of buying basically any unit other than infantry or artillery, is just movement. Movement is huge though. In a turn based game, sometimes movement can be everything! The whole game! Because sometimes getting somewhere “next round” or a “few rounds from now” just isn’t good enough. Sometimes you need the units there “right now!”

More than any other player nation, the Russians will have to confront this problem right away. Movement into Moscow, out of Moscow, or against Moscow by the Axis, will all highlight the delicate balance this games strikes between movement and hitpoints/attack/defense for the cost. What you pay the most for in the end is usually movement. Transports move ground across the water, and all other ships basically just exist to protect them. So when players like US/UK/Japan invest in ships, they are really investing in movement across the water. Tanks are movement across the ground, and Fighters and Bombers over the land and sea. But when movement isn’t a huge consideration, Infantry will always be best for the cost. That’s why so many people say things like “don’t forget to buy infantry!” or “the dude who purchases the most infantry will usually win” etc. Russia is unique in that they can remain reasonably effective well into the game, without having to move very far from home. Their core is rich relative to their periphery, and they can just sort of hang out in the zone immediately surrounding their capital and still collect enough to be a threat. So its worth thinking about, when all is said and done, how many infantry units do the Russians really need to stay alive into the endgame?

I’d say if you are playing for keeps, the goal is achieve a stack upwards of 60 or more total units on Moscow.
Lets say about 1/3rd of that force should be heavy hitters, like tanks or fighters, the other 2/3rds is mostly infantry with artillery supporting it when possible. There is just something about that 60 stack, its like a magic number, once you achieve it you’r ability to be effective with a limited number of territories under your control becomes pretty out-sized compared to the Axis. The Axis have to push their units across a much greater distance from their main centers of production, where as you can just hang out in Moscow and stack and stack! This forces Axis to invest in movement, since its harder for them to match you hit point for hit point on the center otherwise. So even a single infantry unit produced by Russia during the late game, is really worth twice or three times its cost to the Russians, given what the Axis enemy has to spend to bring a unit in range that can destroy.

Once you achieve super stack status, whether on Moscow, or on any territory really, the power of infantry really becomes clear. All you have to do is buy a few dudes a round, and your teammates can fly in the rest to help you. (The same principles can also apply to Berlin, or in a territory like Western Europe D-Day.) When you super stack, the idea is to put more hit-points a territory than the other side can match over time, until eventually you have them driven back. You push the defensive value of your infantry out from these core stack zones, and win the war of attrition by putting up more defensive infantry strength (across several territories) than your opponent could reasonably attack in a single round. That’s you push out from the core, but the core itself is usually your capital territory (whatever nation you are playing.) You want a wall of infantry either to defend that core, or to march out from it eventually to mess with the other guys core. That’s how Russia fights Germany on this board anyway. So its good to remember, as Baron said that sleight of hand! Or pulling a Houdini, and escaping from the capital cage and running wild! That can be fun too. If your stack is big enough, you might not even need to hold Moscow to be a pain for Axis. If your wall is giant enough, it can just start lumbering around in Eurasia while the western Allies try to figure something out haha.

barney

And that one’s out of here!

LMFAO reading that Black Elk! A few of my favorites “a huge wall of Russian infantry”, “Once you achieve super stack status”, “if your wall is giant enough”, “total cardboard world domination”!

That is too good! But yea, I try and keep Russia less than 2:1 infantry, artillery myself. I hate to waste the extra buck(being the cheap *&%$#@! that I am) but it’s way worth it.
Good Stuff Man!

Private-Panic

Black Elk - 42.2 arrived today so I had a quick look for advice on the forum and found this post from you.

Having only just benefitted from all your time and help regarding 1941 strategy I am quite simply gobsmacked by your deep knowledge and your willingness to share.

You are a star Black Elk!

:-D

Witt

Enjoy your new game, Private Panic.

Private-Panic

Thanks wittman!

BTW - sent you an instant message - did you get it? Not showing in my outbox.

Cheers
PP

Witt

You need to tick the box at the bottom of the message. On the left, I think.

Young Grasshopper

@wittmann:

You need to tick the box at the bottom of the message. On the left, I think.

Messages still send successfully even if you haven’t saved it to your own outbox.

Private-Panic

Thanks :-)

Black_Elk

Hi private panick! Nice to see you in the 1942.2 section :-D

I’m busy with work this weekend, but plan to return to this thread soon with some thoughts on sz16, since I think the decision of whether to keep it open or close it off, has a definite impact on the Russian situation. Meantime, hopefully you can find some cool threads in this forum to keep you busy with strategy planning.

Catch you guys soon!
best Elk

Black_Elk

(Pulled from another thread for safe keeping)

Still thinking about general strategies for the five player nations on this board, and building up to a German strategy guide little by little in my mind, but I wanted to pause this morning and just describe one Allied move that I’m rather fond of on this board with USA.

I’ve referred to it in the past as “the Iceland fighter transit”, or “the fighter launch” from sz 11 to Moscow in 2 moves.

Usually I will plan this move as a round 3 set up for USA, in KGF focused games. It is my favorite use for the starting US Pacific carrier in sz 53 (should this survive J1), if you want to move that Carrier from the Pacific to the Atlantic to support a European campaign. There are a number of purchases you can make during the first 3 rounds to support this play, I like to buy a destroyer and a carrier for sz 11 on USA1, but I just want to describe the situation here in terms of the starting units first.

The sz 53 fighter flies off the Carrier deck to land in W. Australia on USA1, then flies to India on USA2 for Calcutta defense.

The sz 53 fleet itself moves to sz 41, to guard the British as they make their way around South America (New Zealand evac). These ships are joined by the 1 fighter from Hawaii on USA1. This American fleet will move from sz 41 to sz 22 Brazil on USA2. The fighter can detach from the carrier on the second round, or stay with the deck in sz 22, it’s up to you. But I like to detach and fly from sz 41 either to W. Australia or Equatorial Africa/Congo so it can reach India the following round. Note if you take the Africa route for this fighter from sz 41, your flight path in round 3 is through Sudan, so it can land in India for defense.

Sz 41 is the fastest way to get the Hawaiian fighter to the Center/India that I’ve been able to find. It takes the same amount of moves as going any other direction. So I just go to sz 41 on USA1 with the Hawaiin fighter, and launch the fighter from there on USA2, with plans to land it in India on USA3. This is a better play I think, than going to Eastern Australia, or Central USA, or Alaska with the fighter from Hawaii on USA1.

The sz 56 fleet moves to sz 19 Panama on USA1, and on to sz 11 East Coast on USA2.

On round 3 you will purchase 2 USA fighters, to set up the Iceland transit in earnest. Whatever starting naval forces you purchased in the Atlantic up until this point, will converge with the British in sz 13 Morocco, to begin Operation Torch against North Africa. During this same 3rd round, your Pacific carrier will move to sz 11 on Non Com, where it will remain for the next several rounds to receive newly purchased fighters placed directly into sz 11. From this point on, the carrier deck will serve as a launching pad for newly purchased fighters on their way to Moscow/W.Russia via Iceland.The rest of your USA Atlantic forces are free to roam about and threaten amphibious landings, but this one carrier deck will remain in sz 11, to do its main job of fighter launching.

By the 3rd round USA will still be collecting into the high 30’s, usually between 36-38 ipcs. 20 of these ipcs will be dedicated to fighter purchases from round 3 on, which leaves a safe 16-18 ipcs for ground purchases (eventually more if USA can recover the lost income from China elsewhere on the map). What this means is that by round 3 you will want at least 3 transports, to move about 16-18 ipcs worth of ground out of North America every turn. If your starting transports somehow survive the initial German u-boat attack (or if Germany goes after the British instead) then you will begin play at advantage, if not these transports need to be replaced ASAP, for the purposes of moving ground towards fortress Europa.

The basic idea is this: on the 3rd round (and for many rounds thereafter) the USA will be purchasing 2 fighters a round, dropping them in sz 11, then flying to Iceland and from there directly to Moscow. This means 2 USA fighters in Iceland on round 4, which can land in Moscow/W. Russia on round 5. Or a fighter launch off your sz 11 carrier that is two rounds out from Moscow, for all newly purchased fighters from that point on (optimally 2 fighters, but at least 1 fighter per round, as income allows.)

Round 4, is when USA will take over the “Fighter Wall” purchasing role from UK, and provide direct fighter aid to Russia via the Iceland transit. This allows the British to begin purchasing Atlantic naval units, or to begin using the fighters they have purchased up until that point, for purposes beyond simple Moscow defense. In other words, the UK will make 3 rounds of Spitfire purchases to prop up Russia initially, after round 4 and beyond, it will be USA that takes over the job of sending fighters.

It is usually exactly around this time, that the UK’s total income will start to diminish to the point where fighter purchases are no longer viable for them. And it is also around this time that the German drive against Moscow will begin to make the UK to W. Russia/Archangel fighter transit less tenable. At precisely the point when the UK will have to start making serious compromises during their purchase units phase (e.g. when they need to start preparing for amphibious assaults vs Europe instead of Fighters to aid Russia) the USA will arrive from Iceland to take over and keep the center from collapsing.

It is possible to do this same move with a newly purchased USA carrier, instead of the Pacific sz 53 carrier. Or alternatively to use 2 carriers together in sz 11, to try and magnify the fighter launch, but I find that USA doesn’t have enough cash to make the most of a double deck launch in sz 11 (since that requires a minimum of 30 ipcs spent on 3 fighters to activate.) 1 carrier is usually enough, and the sz 53 Pacific carrier, is conveniently 3 rounds out from sz 11, giving USA two game rounds of purchasing to help set up the play. It is also possible to set an Iceland transit from the second round instead of the third, if you want to launch your 2 starting fighters off a newly purchased sz 11 carrier (bought on USA1), but this can stall your Torch options by a full round. It depends how urgent USA fighter support is to the defense of Moscow, but sometimes I will consider that play too.

On USA1 purchase, assuming Germany sank your starting transports, I enjoy 1 carrier (to be stacked with existing fighters) 1 destroyer, 2 transports. This is your “roaming carrier” the one that will be used for early Torch operations, and the two fighters that land on it will not be part of it the Iceland transit, but instead “glued” to this roaming deck for defense vs German air until later rounds. This leaves USA with a remainder of 6 ipcs. If Germany sank your transports with two U-boats surviving in sz 11, or if U-boats went for the double hit and destroyed the British in sz 10 as well, you might wish to spend that 6 ipcs on an additional Atlantic sub (for an extra fodder hit, which can be helpful in clearing the Atlantic.) Otherwise you can save that 6 ipcs for purchasing during the second round.

On USA2 purchase, I like 1 additional transport, 1 ground unit, and as many bombers as you can afford. This will give you a total of 4 loaded transports, or 2 alternating transports which can be used to launch at least 4 ground a round out of E. USA/Central USA into Africa. Some people call this a “Shuck.” If you plan a round in advance, this allows you to place 4 ground in W. USA for Japan defense, then move them to Central USA the following round, where they can load into sz 11.

The bombers, purchased in round 2, can rush to Moscow or India by round 4 to provide additional defensive fodder (wherever it is most needed). I like to make this bomber purchase early, as it will help to support subsequent fighter purchases on the Iceland transit, giving them more cumulative attack power. 20 ipcs a round will be dedicated to Iceland fighter launching, with the remainder spent on shucking ground into Africa, until you have secured the center/Moscow, and allowed the UK Atlantic fleet to become fully operational against Germany. At this point, you switch can switch from dedicated Iceland fighter purchases, to setting up the main expeditionary force for the Atlantic crossing (ie 1 less fighter per round, and more ground/transports to threaten amphibious.)

Optimally this will be between 3-6 newly purchased UK fighters (plus the starting fighters) to aid Russia/India in the first 3 rounds of game play. And then an additional 4-6 US fighters for that same purpose, during the next 3 rounds. Basically 6 rounds of dedicated fighter purchasing from the Allies to prop up the Russian capital and hold the Indian VC for as long as possible, while securing Africa/Suez in the process. In round 7, once the Moscow fighter wall is established (with two more US Iceland fighters on the way), you can start purchasing heavy ground rather than fighters for the main Atlantic crossing to set up the eventual hit on Berlin, and release the carrier from sz 11. A dozen or more Western Air units in Russia by the 7th round, to prevent the Axis from cracking the center, making an early Moscow crush an extremely bloody proposition for Germany. By maintaining control of the Center and Suez, the game changes from one that hinges entirely on the Russian capital to one that hinges on control of Berlin. Taking Berlin will secure the Allied endgame, regardless of whether Japan takes Moscow, so that is the race you will be playing, in proper KGF fashion.

The reason I like the Iceland fighter transit, is that it focuses on the movement advantage and overall power of the fighter unit, and gives you the fastest possible route to put USA fighters into Moscow: 2 rounds from sz 11. All the other transits to the Russian capital require a stop over in territories that Axis can threaten, or onto carriers in sea zones that Axis can threaten with air attacks. Iceland on the other hand is relatively secure. Iceland makes little sense for a UK Fighter transit, since you end up wasting too many movement points at too little advantage, but for a US fighter transit it is ideal. 4 spaces from sz 11 to Iceland, and another 4 spaces from Iceland to Moscow. So all you need to set it up is a carrier in sz 11.

One more tool in the toolbox! I don’t use it in every game, but it can be a lot of fun if you want to go fighter heavy with USA.
:-D

Black_Elk

For more ideas like these you can also check out the general strategy guide I tried to put together for 1942.2
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=35703.0

Or the German openers thread, which is still being developed with discussions.
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=35951.0

Have fun and good game all!
:-D

Black_Elk

Another Russian opener, which has not yet been properly considered in this thread. The tricky Tank on Non Com! haha
:-D

Earlier we spent some time discussing the strong advantages of stacking W. Russia (especially to deadzone the Karelia factory). I also briefly mentioned some ways different ways that Caucasus can be handled on R1, most of those focused on baits and on tank trapping, ie light defenses of Caucasus. Well, another way to handle things is to hold 1 tank in reserve for non-combat. The concept here is to use your lone tank for a positional advantage against Japan on R2, while still being able to return to the optimal locations against Germany on R3, when it will be needed most.

Ex. 1 Tank launches to Szech on Non-Combat to cover the Flying Tiger through the first round, and then returns to Caucasus in the second. This frees up the Kazakh infantry to help defend Caucasus, instead of going on Flying Tiger protection. The advantage of using a tank instead of the infantry unit is two-fold. First you get a better defense value at 3 (instead of 2) but you also gain a two round movement advantage as well, since the Tank move out and back in two 2 turns, whereas the infantry takes 3.

or another option is 1 tank held in reserve, launches to Evenki on Non-Combat, then returns to W. Russia on R2.
or 1 tank held back, then launched to Yakut or Sinkiang on Non-Combat and then returns to Moscow on R2.
Those are the other most common variants I’ve seen, but the 1 tank to Szech play is probably the strongest of the these.

With this sort of opening, you usually want a strong armor advantage build, at least 1 tank purchased, 2 or even 3! in order to back the Germans off you during the second round.

Once you get up to about 13 total hitpoints in the W. Russia battle (ie. you are bringing most of your armor and all of your artillery to the fight) there is statistically not much difference between bringing 13 total hitpoints or 19 total hitpoints into the fight. Unless you are willing to bring 20 hitpoints (all 12 infantry in range) The Germans still have an average shot of picking off 3 units.

If for example, you take say…
5 infantry, 3 artillery, 3 tanks, and 2 fighters into the W. Russia battle, that’s 13 units in the fight against Germany’s 5.
100% odds to the attacker, with an average of 10.85 units remaining out of 13

6 infantry instead, an average of 11.85 units remaining out of 14
7 infantry, an average of 12.9 units remaining out of 15.
8 infantry, an average 13.95 units remaining out of 16.
9 infantry its an average of 14.9 units remaining out of 17.
10 infantry its an average of 15.95 units remaining out of 18.
11 infantry its an average of 16.95 units remaining out of 19.
12 infantry its an average of basically 18 units remaining out of 20.

The point is, if you’re holding 1 tank in reserve, it doesn’t really matter how many infantry you bring to the W. Russia fight beyond 5, because unless you bring all 20, you’re still not going to break that threshold of facing 3 hits on average. So what this means, is that you could also hold that infantry in reserve, if for some reason you’d like to try something tricky on Non-Com defenses, you’re not really losing out all that much on average units remaining, at least when you’re trying to keep the 4th tank in reserve.

Consider the difference between what people are usually willing to risk in W. Russia when they go for a multi-attack opening, and you can see how bringing the fighters and 3 tanks into W. Russia can really help to ice that fight. If things go very well, you take few hits and then have a couple extra infantry units at the ready to attempt a defense somewhere. If things go poorly you can always send these reserve units along with the Tank to W. Russia on non com as reinforcements.

If the Soviets in W. Russia get hammered (3 or more hits put up by the German defense) then you send both AAguns and all available units to W. Russia. On the other hand, if the Soviets do well in W. Russia (like 2 or less hits put up by the German defense) then you can send these units elsewhere and still feel confident that W. Russia will hold without them.

This sort of play can often wipe the Germans in W. Russia, and still leave you with extra infantry in range of other places (like Caucasus say if you want to mount a minor defense.) If an Allied bid is allowed, this advantage can increase yet further. Leaving you enough HP and power to get the job done against Germany for the first round, while still proving the W. Allies that added back-up in Szech, on the 2 turn “race around” with the 4th Russian tank. This tank can really come in handy if the British are unable to send fighter support from sz 35 to keep the Chinese flying tiger alive, and it can jet back to the Eastern Front with G the following round, without really missing a beat. ;)

Black_Elk

Ruminating further on the previous post, a question occurs to me now…

If you don’t want to attack Ukraine on R1, is there any good way to reliably defend Caucasus against an all out G1 attack?

I don’t see many strong options here, that don’t at the same time give Germany a way to reliably stack Karelia. If you go full force into W. Russia on the opening attack, and then try landing your fighters in Caucasus to mount a full defense of the southern factory runs the risk of inviting a German assault with the transport in sz16 (even at a rather poor exchange, they might do this just to destroy the Red Airforce immediately.) On the other hand if you try to just trade West Russia instead of stacking it, so that you’ll have enough HPs to deter any possibility of a German attack on Caucasus, then this would seem to leave Karelia vulnerable to the G1 stack north. Basically defending the south doesn’t do you a whole lot for the investment, and it doesn’t really mess with Axis warplan. In the process you screw yourself out of the best fighter transits from UK.

So my suggestion, as highlighted earlier would always be to stack W. Russia, even acknowledging that it is technically possible to go full southern defense if you wanted too, I just think its easier to defend it lightly on R1 and put of the focus on R2 instead ;)

All the Russian openings: For Begginers

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